


One Last Thing

by chimeradragon



Category: Yu-Gi-Oh! Duel Monsters (Anime & Manga)
Genre: Gen, Just a thought, Reincarnation
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-07-08
Updated: 2020-07-08
Packaged: 2021-03-04 21:41:09
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,626
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/25143307
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/chimeradragon/pseuds/chimeradragon
Summary: Atem is ready to go but there's one last thing Seto Kaiba has ...
Comments: 2
Kudos: 9





	One Last Thing

The stone doors stood wide open, with brilliant light shining through. Atem felt a warmth coming from the light but there was something nagging at him. Something missing as he looked over his friends one last time. He felt a tug at his heart when he looked over certain people but knew that his place was with his family and friends. He'd only been meant to come back to stop the darkness, then he could move on. He turned and took a step towards the light, seeing the multitude of familiar faces. Mana, Mahad, his father ... he felt a tear in his eye as took another step. 

"A ...tem..?" a shaky voice called from behind the pharaoh and made him turn. He frowned slightly as he saw Seto Kaiba take an unconscious step towards him, one hand slightly raised in supplication. 

"Kaiba?" Atem asked as he turned to fully face his rival. 

Seto's head shook slightly as he took another unconscious step closer, his eyes were glazed as he moved, almost like he wasn't familiar with his own limbs. "Pharaoh..." 

Atem took a step away from the open portal and towards Seto, worry clear on Atem's face as Mokuba stepped up to his brother with a look of confusion. 

"Big Brother?" Mokuba asked as he tugged on the other's lower hand and gave a soft tug. 

Seto cocked his head and looked down with a look of mild confusion as he stared at Mokuba. There was a moment's hesitation before Seto knelt; turning his back on Atem's equally confused face, and placed his hands on the young boys' shoulders. "I'm sorry. I know you need your brother, but I need to go with Atem now or I'll be locked out forever." 

Mokuba reared back slightly as he shook his head. "You're... not my big brother?" 

"Yes and no." 

"Priest Seto?" Yugi asked as he stepped over to stand next to the Kaiba brothers. Seto nodded and stood. "You ... but how?" 

"I was trapped in my reincarnation by a combination of millennium items and a curse. But all of us have been freed from those magics," Seto replied, his voice had a strange multilayered quality to it. "But with the millennium items together and the door open, I can finally be free. Free to join my friends... My family." 

The group turned and looked to see there was an empty space in the waiting group. No high Priest Seto among them. 

Atem shivered a little and fully turned his back on the opening. He walked over to where Seto had managed to stumble another two steps closer. The taller man looked like he was on the brink of collapse, his whole body shook and trembled as he fought to get closer. Atem reached out and grasped Seto's right hand to help the other but his grip slipped and it looked like he was going to lose his grip when his hand caught on something semisolid. Atem pulled and Priest Seto seemed to be yanked out of Seto Kaiba. 

"Bro?" Mokuba asked as his brother stumbled back a step and would have hit the floor if not for Yugi and Mokuba catching his shoulders at the last minute. 

"Hn," Seto moaned but his eyes stayed shut and his brows drawn together in pain as his breaths grasped out of him.

"Thank you, my friends," Priest Seto stated as he held on to Atem's hand, remaining as solid as the pharaoh before him. "Take care. And know that ... Seto Kaiba has his memories now. The curse has been lifted from both of us. Come, Pharaoh, we have an afterlife to get to." 

Atem chuckled low in his chest, the sound was more felt than heard as he pulled his friend through the light where the two were pounced on as soon as they crossed the threshold. The last image the group saw was of Priest Seto and Atem smiling and laughing. 

The ground rumbled and the floor shook.

"And dat's our cue to scram," Joey announced as pieces of the ceiling started falling. 

"You gotta help us!" Mokuba called, he knew that Seto's height would keep Yugi and himself from getting Seto out of the cave before it collapsed. "Please!"

"Eh, someone's gotta save, Rich Boy," Joey grumbled halfheartedly as he and Tristan took an arm and hauled the unconscious Seto out into the blinding sunlight just as the entrance collapsed. The two burdened teens collapsed to the ground, careful to keep Seto from ending up face-first in the smothering sand. "Hey, Kaiba, you with us?" 

Mokuba knelt before his brother, eyes worried. "Bro?" 

Seto didn't wake as he made a soft noise that was somewhere between a groan and a sigh. His head lolled to the side, landing against Joey's shoulder. His body remained limp as he was dragged a little further from the collapsed cave entrance. 

"Mister Kaiba!" Roland called as he ran forward to help take Seto's weight from Tristan. 

"He's just passed out," Joey offered helpfully. 

"Hn," Seto grunted as he was bodily hauled into the waiting jet. 

"Thank you," Ishizu stated to the group. She paused as she opened and closed her mouth a few times as several things ran through her mind. She smiled softly. "All of you have done so much for us, I have not the words to truly articulate my appreciation."

"And I humbly thank you for saving me from my own darkness," Marik stated with a look of pain in his eyes. "You all showed me kindness when I was full of rage. I am eternally grateful for you all. If you need anything, don't hesitate to ask." 

"Thank you," Yugi replied with a smile. "You taught us a lot about ourselves, and helped us figure out the pharaoh's past." 

"Hn," Seto grunted from where he hung between Joey and Roland, head bobbing slightly as though he was fighting against unconsciousness, and not quite succeeding. 

"We should get him on board," Roland insisted as he gave a gentle pull on Seto, urging Joey to help him carry the unconscious CEO onto the waiting jet. 

"Yeah, yeah," Joey conceded as he turned to walk with the older man. "Hey, maybe we can look through his deck while he's out and find some killer strategies, eh Tristan?"

"Over Mokuba's dead body," Seto muttered, head still hanging limply against his own chest. There was a faint curl to his lips in clear amusement. 

"Wha-?" Joey muttered in surprise at the comment, he looked over but noticed that Seto seemed to be stubbornly unconscious. 

"He's right," Mokuba replied flippantly. "I won't let you mess with my brother's deck." 

"I was mostly kidding," Joey huffed as he and Roland got Seto laid down on one of the benches in the jet. "But ya know... he's a dueling genius... wouldn't hurt ta learn a thing or two." 

"You could just ask him," Mokuba replied flatly. "He'd be happy to 'prove his superiority' if you believe he's actually that egotistical." 

"He's not?" Tristan asked as he walked onto the jet. 

Mokuba gave the other teen a dark look that said he was tempted to make Tristan find his own way back. Tristan had the good sense to look a little ashamed as he moved away from the Kaiba brothers and sat down. 

"He's ... guarded," Mokuba offered after a minute as the rest of the group finally boarded. "Gozaburo was not a kind man." Roland snorted delicately and merely raised an eyebrow when the others on the plane looked at him. "Well, that's being charitable." 

"Very charitable," Roland muttered under his breath. 

"Regardless, let's go home and worry about everything else later," Yugi said as he sat next to Seto's unconscious form. "I for one miss home." He reached down and touched the place on his chest where the puzzle had rested for years and winced at the empty space. "We could use it." 

"Sounds good ta me," Joey offered as he flopped down on a nearby chair. 

"Roland?" Mokuba said as he sat next to his brother. 

"On it... Master Mokuba," Roland replied with a fraction of a smile on his face as he bowed and headed for the cockpit. 

"It's been a long week," Seto muttered as he winced his way back to consciousness. He grunted softly as he noted he was on his private jet and surrounded by the Dweeb Patrol. He noticed the way Tristan was sitting furthest away and looked to see Mokuba with a grin on his face before his younger brother threw himself onto Seto and squeezed as though he was trying to hug the life out of Seto. 

"I missed you!" Mokuba declared. 

"I was unconscious, not dead," Seto countered, voice cold even as his arm wrapped around his brother and pulled him close. 

"Ya had us fooled fer a minute there," Joey countered playful, eyes on Seto to see the other's response. 

"I didn't really have a choice with all this magical mumbo jumbo," Seto countered with a raised eyebrow and a dismissive wave of his free hand. His face was perfectly blank and placid as he watched the reaction of the others. 

Yugi was the first to laugh, tears in his eyes. "Good to have you on our side." 

"I'm on my own side," Seto countered as his eyebrow dropped. "It just so happens you dweebs know the right one and it coincides with mine." 

There was a moment of tense silence before the rest of the group laughed. Seto didn't laugh but he did allow a small smile to grace his face. 

It would be okay. Atem, the pharaoh, and the Millennium Items were where they belonged. It would be tough but there was hope. 

END


End file.
